Wal-Mart to Outsource more IT Work to India

The retailer is already hoping to break into the Indian retail market, via a joint venture with India's Bharti Enterprises for a wholesale cash-and-carry operation.

"As we deepen our relationship with India, it only made sense that we take advantage of the 24-hour development cycle that India offers," Wal-Mart vice chairman Michael Duke said in a statement.

India is just one of several countries that Wal-Mart is targeting as part of its remote sourcing model for IT activities. The retailer has sourced some IT applications from a couple of Indian technology firms in the past year, and will now expand these operations to cover more firms to augment its work in the United States, a spokesman told Reuters.

The Bharti venture is expected to open 10 to 15 wholesale cash-and-carry facilities and employ approximately 5,000 people over the next seven years. A typical facility will be between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet and sell a range of produce, groceries and staples, footwear, clothing, and consumer durables to retailers.

In other global Wal-Mart news, the company's U.K. subsidiary, Asda Group Ltd., yesterday unveiled a $776 million expansion that will create more than 9,000 jobs, open up to 22 stores, and build 12 extensions, totaling 800,000 square feet, this year.